The 2017 Solar Eclipse in Photos

Yesterday, millions of Americans gathered to witness the first full-blow, coast-to-coast solar eclipse since World War I. The best seats in the house were along the path of totality, a strecth of land about 2,600 miles across the U.S. from Oregon to South Carolina.

NASA reported 4.4 million people were watching its TV coverage midway through the eclipse, the largest livestream event in the agency's history. By all accounts, it was the most photographed eclipse in history, as well.

Here are some of our favorite photos to come out of the historic event yesterday:

A partial solar eclipse appears over the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island in New York, Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

This composite image shows the progression of a total solar eclipse over Madras, Oregon on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. Photo: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

This composite image, made from seven frames, shows the International Space Station, with a crew of six onboard, as it transits the Sun at roughly five miles per second during a partial solar eclipse, Monday, Aug. 21, 2017 near Banner, Wyoming. Photo: NASA/Joel Kowsky

The moon almost eclipses the sun during a near total solar eclipse as seen from Salem, Ore., Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

The moon covers the sun during a total eclipse Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, near Redmond, Ore. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

While it was a great day for photos, it was also a good day for science. Citizen scientists and professional agencies teamed up to see what-- if any-- effect the solar eclipse would have on animals, especially those in the path of totality.

As Seth Borenstein, AP Science Writer, reported:

High-altitude balloons were released across the country, carrying experiments and providing live video.

Now scientists have to figure out what it all means.

"The balloon footage live was fantastic," said Angela Des Jardins of Montana State University, who headed the balloon project. "You could really see the sunset effect, the shadow come across."

For the National Solar Observatory's Citizen CATE project, everyday people were given telescopes and camera equipment and trained to record the eclipse as it moved from Oregon to South Carolina.

"It was really successful," said Matt Penn, an astronomer who ran the project.

Astronomers concentrated on the plumes from the sun's polar region to help understand why the solar wind speeds up so much, Penn said. The sun's upper atmosphere, called the corona, or crown, was the focus of astronomers' attention. It's easier to study when the sun is blocked.

At the Nashville Zoo, the giraffes were the stars. Especially 6-month-old Mazi and 3-year-old Nasha.

"They're crazy running around," said Nate Zatezalo, who came from Cleveland, where he volunteers at the zoo there.

During the full eclipse, all four giraffes ran. That's not unusual for the two juveniles who scamper at twilight after the crowds leave. But the father giraffe, Congo, "usually doesn't do anything other than being the dad" and is regal and above it all, said zoo volunteer Stephan Foust. But even the above-it-all dad got in on the running during darkness.

Zookeepers reported that before totality the orangutans climbed to the highest heights they've ever gone.

Mike Newchurch, left, professor of atmospheric chemistry at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and graduate student Paula Tucker prepare a weather balloon before releasing it to perform research during the solar eclipse Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, on the Orchard Dale historical farm near Hopkinsville, Ky. The location, which is in the path of totality, is also at the point of greatest intensity. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

U.S. Air Force Col. Mark Henderson of Mississippi videoing giraffes at Nashville Zoo on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, in early stages of the eclipse in Nashville, Tenn. Henderson would later send information to scientists studying animal reaction. (AP Photo/Seth Borenstein)

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